Proud to Support FareShare South West

25/10/2022

By Lee Nottle

As a worker cooperative, Essential feels very strongly about supporting our local community. We have a great working relationship with FareShare South West and continue to support them by donating any excess food we have at our warehouse in Bristol.

Over the Summer, we donated 670kgs of food to FareShare South West which is the equivalent of 1,700 meals. All of this goes to fantastic projects like Naomi’s holiday club in Eastville Park, ensuring that children from lower-income backgrounds have access to nutritious food and educational activities.

About FareShare South West

Formed in 2007, FareShare South West was set up to help tackle the food poverty issue in the South West by redistributing surplus food across the region. By using quality, in date surplus food which would otherwise have gone to waste, FareShare turns an environmental problem into a social solution.

Holiday Project 2022

For many families across Bristol and the South West, the summer months can be challenging and the six-week summer holiday period can be financially difficult for parents on low incomes. This has only been worsened by the ongoing cost of living crisis as energy bills and food prices continue to soar.

During this extensive period, FareShare South West teamed up with local councils, charities and community groups to deliver a summer of holiday activities and food for children throughout the region. In total, the charity has supported 41 different groups with over 15 tonnes of fruit, vegetables, yoghurt, bread, and everything in between; that's enough food to make 37 thousand meals.

Bristol Holiday Club

Naomi runs a holiday club based in Eastville Park for children usually receiving free school meals. The club encourages local children to explore nature around them while providing nourishing meals and snacks to stay happy and healthy. Thanks to weekly deliveries from FareShare South West, the holiday club has been able to serve larger quantities and a higher quality of food than ever before.

“Some of the families are not getting three meals a day over the summer. With our FareShare South West delivery, there is often enough food to send some home with families or provide extra snacks for the children going hungry” says Naomi.

Food goes so much further than filling empty stomachs, however. Whether making colourful vegetable kebabs or learning how to grow snacks at home, the children participate in creative cooking workshops and learn about healthy eating.

Essential is delighted that our contribution is making a difference to people’s lives in the heart of our community; Naomi’s Holiday club happens just a short distance from our warehouse in Bristol. We’re also very thankful to FareShare South West for helping us support projects like this one.

Find Out More and Donate

To find out more about the fantastic work FareShare South West does and how you can get involved, please visit their website here.